Epiphany is over. The tree is down. The baubles and bangles
are wrapped in December pages of the Herald Republican. It is always fun to
unwrap these treasures each year in last year’s newspapers. I did, however,
leave up my outside lights to cheer the neighborhood and all my snowman pillows
and dishes. I mean, it might snow again. Maybe?
Before it was all dismantled this weekend, I had one last event,
the12th Night party. The band, Above the Fold, came over and used
the party as their practice! For most of the evening (after the potluck) we sat
in the dining room and sang all our favorite songs with the band. My friend,
Micky, from France was visiting, and she whispered to me, “If only my children
could see me now!” It was so great having her here. We became pen pals on
Facebook and finally met at one of my campfires a couple of years ago. Now, as
she was back visiting, she could come to one of my get-togethers, meet lots of
folks, and see for herself what I am always talking about!! Micky wrote a
lovely piece on my wall to document her visit!
During the course of the evening, I served my world-famous
(in these here parts) coconut cake with a small blue glass stone baked inside
of it. Whoever would get the pretty stone would become the king or queen of my get-togethers
for the entire year. Of course, everyone was cautious to eat the cake so they
would not swallow the stone! Some went right for it as they wanted to be the
king of queen. Others shied away until someone got the stone. It wasn’t long
until Tom Adamson got he stone!! He was knighted by the current reigning king,
Mark Wilson. It was with much joy that Mark handed the reigns over to Tom. Tom,
the great sport that he is, continued to play in the band wearing his crown. In
case you are wondering, Burger King supplied the crown! I decorated it with lots
of purple bling. I hope Tom realizes the importance of his role as king for a
year. We shall see how that goes!!
We concluded the evening with the last lighting of the tree
and the singing of Auld Lang Syne. And now it is over, and the January sun
streams through the window once again. I do think that dismantling Christmas
goes much quicker than putting it all up! So, farewell.
Looking ahead, there are many events in our town! On
January 25th, I am hosting a late afternoon poetry celebration. My
annual Burns Night will actually be at Caleo this year from 4-6 on January 25th.
This is open to the public…students, parents, educators, poetry lovers and
anyone else you can think of to ask or invite. The forum will be an open mic so
everyone will have a chance to read a poem of their choosing. You can read a
Burns poem, which would be delightful, or you can actually read any poem you
want! One of my new students from this semester’s classes will emcee the
afternoon tossing around bits of information on the life of Robert Burns.
In case you are wondering, or new to my column (I do talk
about poetry…a lot), Robert Burns was the famous Scottish bard. Since 1801
folks have been celebrating his birthday around the world. His poetry has been
used in so many ways besides just reciting and reading it! John Steinbeck used
Burns’ line, “Of Mice and Men” for a title. And, of course, I mentioned “Auld
Lang Syne” already which was written by Burns.
It all started in 1801 when nine of Burns’ closest friends
decided to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his death. During that time, haggis
was served in a sheep’s head and then a performance of his poetry.
Burns died tragically at the age of 37, on the day his son,
Maxwell, was born. It is amazing that in his short life, he produced over 700
poems.
On the 25th, we won’t be having haggis or even
Scotch whiskey, but Caleo does serve up the best coffee and tea. We will be
joining with thousands of folks around the world reading poetry and spending a
lovely afternoon together.
So, from “Auld Lang Syne” with my Christmas tree to Burns
Night, the fun just doesn’t end.
Until then, brush up on your poetry reading. Burns Night is
right around the corner!
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